I Hear You Calling

by Helen Line

  Without his face there to constantly remind me I managed not to give it too much thought, and I was really glad I had, ‘cos now that it looked like Rae was going to start getting better I needed to be able to focus entirely on her for a while.

  Rae

  “Princess…..princess….” the small voice cut through the greyness and I concentrated as hard as I could to connect with it.

  “I can hear you Richard.”

  “I am so scared – please help me. It’s really scary – he shook me so hard I thought my head was going to drop off and then he threw me onto the back seat. And then, he started to cry.”

  “Are you back on the road?”

  “Yes. We are heading back to the sea and I’ve seen a sign for you, it said “welcome to Aberford.”

  “Well done Richard. That is really, I mean really, good news. Now keep talking to me and telling me what is happening.”

  “He is driving onto the beach, and he keeps telling me not to be scared, it is what is meant to be. He’s heading towards the sea, I think he is going to drive into the water…………’

  And then he was gone.

  “Richard………Richard” I screamed.

  Jen

  I had fallen asleep over the magazine I was reading, my glasses had fallen onto the page and my head was slowly following them when I heard the most glorious sound in the world. My sister’s voice.

  ‘Richard………Richard,’ she was shouting and she was struggling to sit up.

  The glasses fell to the floor and I trod on them in my haste to get to her side. I heard them crunch under my feet but I didn’t care at all. Rae was back.

  ‘Help, someone come,’ I called through the open doorway as I passed it to get round the bed.

  It was sheer craziness in the hospital room; Dr Killarney had been called in by the nurse on duty and he and two nurses were busying around Rae, testing everything that could be tested, it seemed.

  I stood in the doorway and just couldn’t take my eyes from my sister’s face.

  I knew that I was laughing and crying at the same time and Rae was looking at me, dazed and confused. But that was to be expected, surely?

  This was the most incredible moment of my life.

  After what seemed a short lifetime Dr Killarney came smiling towards me

  extending his hand.

  ‘Congratulations young lady, he said. ‘You seem to have got yourself a sister all over again.’

  ‘Is she going to be ok?’

  ‘I believe she will be absolutely fine, though obviously we will keep her under close observation for the next couple of days. You can go to her now but be gentle; she’s had a trauma remember and she is finding it difficult to speak as her throat is so sore.’

  ‘What did it feel like?’ I asked half an hour later. ‘Were you aware of anything at all or does it just feel like you have been sleeping?’

  Rae leaned her head back onto the pillows and tried to recall.

  ‘There was something...’ she said slowly, ‘but right now it all seems so far away and I haven’t got the energy to chase it.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ I said, conscious of the doctor’s warning not to over tax her. ‘We have plenty of time to talk about things.’

  I sat with her for a further half an hour before the nurse returned and threw me out.

  ‘Daft as it sounds this patient needs her sleep,’ she told me.

  As I stood up to go I felt an overwhelming fear that if Rae went back to sleep she might not wake up again in the morning.

  ‘Is there any chance she could slip back?’ I asked the nurse quietly at the doorway.

  ‘Highly unlikely…Dr Killarney has thoroughly checked her out and he is happy that she has definitely turned that corner.’

  ‘Thank you,’ I smiled, but I knew that the fear would remain with me until I came back in the morning and saw Rae awake.

  Richard

  So, my fingernails are cutting into the palm of my hand like little knives but I can’t stop doing it. I watch through the window screen as we head towards the sea and I just know what he is going to do.

  ‘Don’t,’ I scream. ‘Stop the car Dad, stop. Please don’t do it Dad.’

  He has the tip of the bonnet on the very edge of the sand when he stops.

  I open my mouth to speak but instead a load of sick comes out. I am shaking all over and breathing really fast, like I have been running.

  Dad just sits in his seat and stares out to sea, I don’t think he even knows I am there. His face is thin and pale in the middle of all that hair and his eyes are red and beady. He doesn’t look anything like my Dad at all.

  ‘Dad.’ I speak to him really quietly like Mum does to me when I am poorly.

  ‘Dad, I think you should move the car back up the beach.’

  He turns his head, slow as a tortoise, and looks at me as if he has never seen me before. Then he shakes his head slowly and all his hair and beard shake with him, like a lion’s mane.

  ‘I am so sorry Rich.’ His voice is so quiet and croaky it’s hard to hear him.

  ‘I love you, you know that don’t you?’

  I nod slowly. I’m not really sure at that moment but I don’t want to say anything that might upset him more and make him start the car again.

  ‘I only ever wanted what was best for you. I really thought I knew what that was but now I don’t know anything for sure. Try not to hate me Rich.’

  Tears are on his face now but he doesn’t make any crying sounds.

  ‘It’s alright Dad. Course I don’t hate you. Let’s just move the car and go home, shall we?’

  He nods slowly.

  I reach for my seat belt to put it back on and his hand reaches across and grabs mine. He squeezes it so tight it goes white.

  ‘Just do me a favour son, just go and have a walk along the beach for five minutes will you and give me a little time to pull myself together?’

  His face is streaming with tears now and I guess he is really embarrassed about me seeing him cry like a baby.

  ‘OK.’

  It feels amazing to be out in the fresh air. Suddenly I am really happy. It’s over, we are going home. Today I will see Mum again. I giggle as I think about what she will say when she sees Dad with all that hair. And I feel so happy that I just have to take off my shoes and run. The cold air is biting into my neck and fingers but I don’t care, I lift my face up to the sky and laugh when the wind bites my nose.

  ‘We’re going home,’ I shout to a flock of sea gulls flying above me.

  And that’s when I hear the splash – the biggest splash I have ever heard and I just know straight away what he has done.

  I stand still for a few seconds as I ask God, “Please let me be wrong, don’t let me turn around and see my Dad and his car in the sea.”

  I turn very slowly and see the bonnet of the car disappear under the water.

  ‘Dad no,’ I scream and run full pelt back along the sand.

  I can’t do anything; I just can’t do a thing except stand on the sand and shout at the back of the car.

  ‘Dad, come back. Please come back. Dad, I’m sorry.’

  The car is slowly disappearing and there is no sign of Dad coming out of it.

  ‘Solly,’ I scream. ‘Do something.’

  But nothing happens.

  And then the shakes came, all over me, from my shoulders right down to my feet I am shaking like a great big jelly. I am crying so hard that I keep swallowing loads of snot and that is probably what makes me be sick again.

  I fall onto the sand and lie there shaking and crying until there is nothing, I feel empty inside and I can’t stay awake any longer.

  Rae

  The sun was just rising as I opened my eyes. For a moment I didn’t recognise the bed I was lying in or the room wit
h its pale green walls and beech cupboards. I tried to sit up and red hot pain shot threw my ribs. I had a plaster cast on my arm and some sort of dressing on my head. My head, my head. It ached so badly. Then a nurse appeared at the open doorway. She was a tall slim woman with a lined face but the warmest smile.

  ‘And how are you feeling today?’ She asked as she walked briskly towards the bed.

  And then I remembered where I was. Sinking back into the pillow I answered her.

  ‘Like I have gone three rounds with Mike Tyson.’

  Her laugh was as warm as her smile had promised.

  ‘No doubt your sister will be beating down the door anytime soon.’ She took my wrist to check my pulse. ‘She has hardly left your bedside for ten days.’

  Ten days? Had I been here ten days? That was ridiculous, how could I have just lost a week and a half of my life, just like that? That’s when I got the huge flashback and for a second I was back in the bedroom of my home and Jim was holding my arm up my back and punching my face.

  ‘Oh God, he hit me.’

  The smiling nurse turned very professional. ‘Just lay back on the pillow and stay calm. Yes, he hit you, you have two fractured ribs, a broken arm and a nasty head injury. Oh, and your face is a lovely mosaic of purple and yellow right now. You have been in a coma for the last ten days. But now, you are out of it and you are going to be fine. We do need you to stay calm though.’

  Her tone was so matter of fact and yet still caring that I felt reassured.

  ‘Can I have a cup of coffee?’

  She laughed again now. ‘I don’t see why not. Shame it’s only our hospital crap through, you really do deserve a Starbucks special today.’

  She left the room to get the said cup of crap.

  And then I had another flashback, I was riding a white pony through a thick dense forest, I could smell pine and hear the call of a lark. There was someone with me, riding alongside me on a matching pony. A boy. I knew him. He was important somehow. He was smiling at me as we rode and his red hair was catching glints of the sun through the trees that made it look like gold.

  An ice cold sensation dripped through my body, from the top of my head to my toes as I recognised him. Richard, it was Richard Banks and I knew where he was. I had to help him.

  ‘Nurse,’ I shouted, just as she appeared at the door with a large white mug in her hand.

  ‘Have they found the missing boy yet? – Richard Banks, the one who was taken by his father?’

  Handing me the coffee she shook her head sadly. ‘No, it was just on the radio news again this morning.’

  ‘I need to call my sister, I need her to get here now.’

  ‘She’ll be here soon I am sure. Now just enjoy your coffee and rest up.’

  ‘No’ I shouted. ‘You don’t understand, I need to talk to her now, it’s really important. Is there a phone I can use?’

  ‘I’ll see if I can find you one if you just stay calm.’ She scurried out of the door.

  How could I stay calm? Richard Banks was in danger, he was scared, and I knew where he was. Or at least where he had been yesterday. Every second was precious – where was that nurse? How difficult could it be to find a phone?

  ‘I need you to come right away and bring Tom with you.’ I told Jen as soon as she answered.

  ‘And good morning to you too sister dearest.’ She laughed and I could tell that she was delighted to hear my voice. But I hadn’t got time for this.

  ‘Jen, I’m serious. It’s about Richard Banks. Get Tom and come now.’

  There was a second or two where I swear I could hear her brain whirring and then she spoke very quietly.

  ‘I just remembered, you were calling his name when you came back.’

  ‘It’s really important Jen, please call Tom now.’

  Taking back the mobile phone she had found for me the Nurse scowled at me.

  ‘You don’t look or sound calm. You are going to get yourself poorly and get me the sack. I’m supposed to be looking after you today and what are they going to say to me if they see you in this state?’

  ‘Sorry, I’ll try to relax now,’ I lied.

  I knew I would not be able to get rid of this adrenaline that was rushing through every bit of me until I had passed on what I knew to help Richard. I tried to remember everything that the boy had told me about their movements and what his father was up to. I got the impression that he had no plan as such, they seemed to be just wandering from place to place and Chris kept meditating in the hope that he would get inspiration as to what to do next. But then it sounded like seeing their photo in the national press had really pushed him over the edge. The man Richard was describing to me in our last few conversations sounded desperate and out of control, capable of doing anything. Richard was so scared when we last spoke and so ashamed that he had wrecked the car and then wet himself. I had to help him, had to. For fuck sake, where were Jen and Tom?

  At last the huge shape of Tom Little appeared in the open doorway.

  ‘Hello stranger,’ he had a beaming smile on his face. Jen’s equally smiling face was peering over his left shoulder, she must be standing on her tip-toes, I thought before I launched into my story.

  Jen’s eyes were wide as saucers as I told them everything I knew. Tom just listened with a serious look on his face and encouraging nods along the way.

  ‘Aberford you say,’ was his only comment when I ran out of breath.

  Jen closed her mouth and then opened it again to speak.

  ‘We have to ring the police, now.’

  ‘And say what?’ I asked sadly. ‘That your sister who has been in a coma for ten days has been communicating with the missing boy in Narnia?’ Do you think they would take it seriously?’

  ‘But it’s true,’ Jen gasped. ‘You wouldn’t lie about something like this.’

  ‘They would just think we are nutters and dismiss it.’ I told her.

  ‘Welcome to my world,’ Tom said softly.

  ‘So what do we do?’ Jen asked.

  ‘We need someone to ring the police and say they have spotted Chris and Richard in Aberford, heading for the beach,’ I said.

  ‘I can’t do it, they know my voice from the interviews and such,’ Tom began.

  Then Jen’s face lit up and she sounded pleased with herself when she said;

  ‘I know who can do it, there’s someone who owes me a great favour and this can go part way towards paying it back.’

  That said she took her mobile phone out of her bag and almost ran from the room.

  I felt some of the pressure lift from me instantly and, for the first time, I smiled at Tom.

  ‘I believe I owe you a huge thank you,’ I told him.

  He blushed as he answered, ‘I didn’t do anything, just found your purse in the car and brought it back to you. The front door was wide open and you were lying in the hall with Barney licking your face like mad. I called the ambulance. Just what anyone would do.’

  Although it hurt my ribs to do it I leaned over and planted a big kiss on his cheek.

  Then he blushed even brighter.

  ‘That’s sorted,’ Jen announced coming back into the room. ‘The police should receive an anonymous tip off in the next five minutes.’

  Relief flooded through me quickly followed by a huge wave of tiredness.

  Tom and Jen were discussing what they thought the police’s next course of action would be, passing the info on to Aberford police seemed to be their favourite option.

  ‘Even if they have left that area at least we know roughly where they are now,’ was the last thing I heard Tom say before I fell into a deep well of exhausted sleep.

  ………………………

  When I woke again it was early afternoon. Jen was sitting next to me reading a magazine and I lay and looked at her quietly for a moment befo
re letting her know I was awake. I had obviously caused her great worry recently, she was so pretty but her face was drawn now and she looked as if she had a real deep tiredness going on. “I’ll make it up to you Jen,” I thought.

  And then she must have sensed me looking at her and she smiled across at me.

  ‘The police have been in,’ she told me as she helped me to a sitting position.

  ‘About Jim,’ she said quickly, seeing the hope in my face. ‘They’re coming back in an hour or so.’

  I hadn’t really given much thought to Jim that day, my thoughts had been full of Richard.

  ‘I suppose they’ll want a statement.’

  She nodded. ‘Do you feel up to it?’

  ‘Best get it over and done with. Any news on Richard?’

  ‘Not yet. Tom is with Janet now and he has promised to text me as soon as they hear anything.’

  ‘I’m scared now Jen,’ I confessed. ‘What if it was all a big coma dream and I wasn’t really speaking with the boy at all?’

  ‘You seemed really sure of it earlier,’ she reminded me. ‘There was no doubt in your mind then.’

  ‘I know but now I’m getting less sure.’

  ‘I think that’s natural. It’s like when you have a job interview and you come out knowing you have blown their socks off. Then the next morning you wake up and think you did rubbish. It’s just fear.’

  ‘When did you get so bloody wise?’ I asked her admiringly.

  Jen

  Mark sounded really pleased to hear from me; he obviously thought my call meant that he was forgiven. It didn’t take me long to dispel that idea though.

  ‘You owe me Mark,’ I told him, ‘and now is your chance to put some of it right.

  I need you to ring the police on this number and tell them that you have seen Chris and Richard Banks in Aberford in Wales very recently. You have no doubt at all that it was them and you heard Chris call the boy by his name. They were heading towards the beach when you passed them, O.K? And I need you to do it right now.’